Invocation to Vishvaksena (sEnai mudaliAr)

An Introduction to the Purusha Sukta

Where is the Purusha Suktam in the Vedas?

Hindu religious sources are classified as ``Sruti'' or
``smRti''. Sruti -- that which is heard -- is of the nature
of divine revelation. We believe that the Vedas, hymns
composed by seers and sages beginning as best as we can
date them in 3000 BC, were sung under divine inspiration.
This is why they are Sruti. These sages ``heard'' them
as the voice of the Divine.

Only two bodies of hymns are recognized as divinely
composed. One being the Vedas, and the other, the
Thiruvaaymozhi of
Kaari Maaran Sadagopan, or Sri Nammaazhvaar,
which are recognized
as equivalent to the 4 Vedas in the Ubhaya Vedanta
school, the Sri Vaishnava tradition. The six compositions
of Kaliyan Neelan, or
Sri Thirumangai Aazhvaar, are recognized as the 6 vedAngas.

[Note: ubhaya vedAnta refers to the twofold vedAnta,
seen through the two eyes of the Sanskrit Upanishads and
the Tamil Divya Prabandham. They are of
paramount and equal authority to Sri Vaishnavas.]

SmRti is that which is remembered, and includes
a large part of the commentary of the Vedas, different
Puranas, epics, and other sources.

The Purusha Suktam is one of the Pancha
Suktams of the Sri Vaishnava sampradaya or tradition.
The other four are the Narayana Suktam, Sri Suktam,
Bhu Suktam, and the Nila Suktam.

The Purusha Suktam is seen earliest in the Rg Veda,
as the 90th Suktam of its 10th mandalam, with 16
mantrams. Later, it is seen in the Vajasaneyi Samhita
of the Shukla Yajur Vedam, the Taittriya Aranyaka of
the Krishna Yajur Vedam, the Sama Veda, and the
Atharvana Veda, with some modifications and
redactions.

In South India, the Purusha Suktam, Vishnu Suktam,
Sri Suktam, and Narayana Suktam are generally
chanted together in paarayanam.

The Sri Rudram, Purusha Suktam, Upanishads,
the Gita, and the Vishnu Sahasra Naamam are also
recommended for daily paarayanam - chanting.

Since the Purusha Suktam is seen in all Vedas,
it is cited as the essence of all Srutis by Veda
Vyasa in the Mahabharata. Saunaka, Apastamba,
and Bodhayana have also written concerning the
use of the Purusha Suktam.

What does the Purusha Suktam talk about?

The Purusha in the title of the Purusha Sukta refers to the
Parama Purusha, Purushottama, Narayana, in
his form as the ViraaT Purusha. He was the source
of all creation. It describes this form of his, as
having countless heads, eyes, legs, manifested
everywhere, and beyond the scope of any limited
method of comprehension. All creation is but a
fourth part of him. The rest is unmanifested.

Purusha as Brahma remained inactive, and
Aniruddha Narayana, one of the four aspects
of Narayana in the first tier at the base of the
Vishaaka Yoopa, asked him ``Why do you
do nothing?'' ``Because of not knowing,''
Brahma replied. ``Perform a yajna. Your
senses, the devas, shall be the ritviks. Your
body shall be the havis. Your heart, the altar.
And I shall be he who enjoys the havis -- the
offering. From your body sacrificed, shall you
create bodies for all living creatures, as you have
done in kalpas before this.''
Thus says the sAkalya brAmhaNA.

This yajna was called ``sarvahut'', the offering
of all. The act of creation itself grew out of yajna,
the rite of sacrifice. Who was worshipped at this
sacrifice? It was the Purusha. Who performed it?
Brahma, the creative aspect of the Purusha. Who
were the ritvik priests ? The devas, who are the
Purusha's senses. Who was tied as the beast of the
sacrifice? Brahma, again. What was barhis, the altar
of the sacrifice? All of nature. Who was the fire?
The Purusha's heart. What was sacrificed? Again, the
Purusha himself, his great body that contained all of
creation.

In a way, this is a message of love, that the Purusha
would consume himself in the fire of creation, to
create all the worlds. From this sacrifice did all
of creation emanate. This is central to the message
of the Purusha Sukta.

This great Purusha, brilliant as the sun, who
is beyond all darkness, I know him in my
heart. Who knows the Purusha thus,
attains immortality in this very birth.
I know of no other way to salvation.

What about this translation attempt?

The redaction I have attempted to translate is based to a
large part on theistic tradition and approach, rather
than a critical approach. This is because this is the way
this wonderful cosmogenical song speaks to me. My
sources for the translation are to put it mildly, a
hodgepodge. I have little skill in Sanskrit myself, and
have had to borrow heavily from these sources:

Purushasukta Bhashya of Ranganaatha Muni.
Ranganaatha Muni (12th century) is also known as
Periya Jeeyar or Nanjeeyar in the Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya.